The Black Lotus
by PitFTW
Summary: Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my squad and I discovered an airbender named Levi. And although he is not the Avatar, he has infinite potential.


**The Black Lotus**

"Do you see him?"

"Oi, Levi bro! He's coming!"

"What're your orders, Levi?"

From his vantage point at the top of one of the many dilapidated buildings of the Underground, Levi scowled and cast a glare over his shoulder at his two companions. Farlan and Isabel had been squabbling for an hour now over a number of things, but as soon as their target arrived, they had taken to providing commentary instead. Levi had long come to pretty much expect as much from Isabel by now, but from Farlan? Surely, the world was going insane.

That wasn't to say, of course, that the world wasn't already turning around and shitting out of its own mouth. The Fire Nation had been waging war with the other nations of the world for hundreds of years, boasting about the death of the Avatar and the end of the cycle with the genocide of the Air Nomads. It was almost mildly hilarious how much the propaganda of the Fire Nation played this up. But of course, like many people in the Underground, Levi often failed to see or acknowledge the humor in a lot of things.

His target was moving to a new stall now and speaking to the fruit merchant there, as though attempting to bargain with the man on his rotting, browning wares. Anyone who lived in the surface was granted access to the finest, freshest foods around. The underground was lucky to get a few overripe bananas every few months or so. Those often sold for exorbitant prices – or were stolen by skilled thieves. Narrowing his eyes, Levi watched as the hooded man made spoke with the grubby merchant, making subtle motions with his hands, as though those motions would somehow get him a fairer price. Perhaps it he was a pretty woman or something like that, he would get a small discount, but a man? This idiot was lucky he wasn't getting robbed.

Levi took a deep breath and closed his eyes, fingers flexing lightly as he concentrated on the air around him, feeling it flow and ebb like some sort of current. It would be so simple for him; all he had to do was asphyxiate the man by pulling the air from his lungs, and ensuring that he drew no more breath by trapping his head in a sphere devoid of air. The man would suffocate to death – and the people of the Underground would be left wondering if some vengeful ghost of the Air Nomads was running about.

For once, Isabel and Farlan were silent as Levi began turning his wrist, tracing indescribable shapes through the air as he concentrated on bending the air around the man's head. The visitor, for his part, seemed not to notice at the air around him began to thin, though Levi noticed that he reached up and tugged at his bolo tie, loosening it ever so slightly. He continued to haggle with the fruit merchant, however, which continued to keep him distracted. Perhaps, if this man was stupid enough to continue haggling with a merchant who was obviously going to give in to no one, Levi was doing the world a favor.

Biting his bottom lip, Levi closed his fist, then slowly opened it, willing the air to push itself away from the man's nose and mouth. The air was so thin now that surely what few brain cells the man had were dead by now. He watched as the target stopped speaking suddenly and brought one hand up to his throat, as though attempting to figure out if the air got caught in his throat. Slowly but surely, a visible sphere of air began to form around the target's head. Perfect. Now all he had to do was draw out the air from the other's lungs, and-

"LEVI!"

Isabel's shriek snapped Levi's concentration. As he turned around to scold her, however, he was immediately met with a great blast of fire, followed by an almost maniacal laugh. Instinctively, Levi lifted his hands, pushing out a blast of air to disperse the flames. Squinting into the inferno, Levi could just barely make out the slim, fit form of a young woman running towards him, fire dancing at her fingertips. She grinned wildly, brown hair whipping around her as she let loose another fiery blast, causing Levi to bend over backwards, the flames just barely grazing the tip of his nose.

A firebender? What the fuck was a firebender doing here? Levi had no time to consider the question, however, as the firebender was upon him, her wild movements guiding thick blasts of flame towards him as he desperately leaped to the side to dodge them. Snarling, Levi leaped into the air, creating large circular motions with his arms and legs as he sent a powerful, circular air current in all directions, blowing the firebender away.

Isabel and Farlan were no longer on the roof – Levi would need to look for them later. But for now, he needed to get out of here, because people were staring up at the roof – and his target was nowhere to be found. Snarling, Levi leaped off the roof, using his airbending to cushion the landing, before he took off running, bending the air around his feet to make him swifter on the ground. Dimly, he heard the distinct thump of boots on the ground as the firebender followed him, felt the intense heat all around him as she hurled blast after blast at him.

He needed to be faster. Without a single warning, Levi leaped into the air, moving his arms in a quick circular motion to form the air beneath his feet into a solid yet swift ball. It was a difficult technique, the sort that was not taught in the nomad tribes. Thankfully enough, Levi had long learned how to invent his very own air techniques, the sort that didn't require any fancy martial arts techniques or weapons. The air scooter, as the other nomads had called it, was both a fantastic method of transportation and an entertaining way to pass the time at the air temples. But for Levi, it was and always had been, a means of escape.

Flaming tendrils licked at the bottom of his feet, the firebender using her own flames to propel herself about. Snarling, Levi cast a glare over his shoulder at her, meeting her wide grin with a deep scowl. So she thought she was going to catch him, did she? Well, he wasn't going to let that happen.

There was an alleyway to his south. Levi immediately made a sharp turn and headed right towards it, the firebender on his heels. He saw the wall of the alley quickly approaching, sensed the firebender's smirk as she thought she had him – but of course, that was all according to plan. For the moment it seemed as though Levi was going to collide with the wall, he pushed his air downwards, creating a great funnel that propelled him up, up, up! He leaped all the way to the top of the building, making a swift slicing motion with his arm to send a blade of concentrated air after him. The firebender slammed face first into the wall, then was sent to the ground by the blade. She lay there, twitching, smoke pouring from her. She was alive, no doubt, but if she were smart, she wouldn't be moving for a while.

Now was the time to make his escape. More wind danced at his heels as Levi dashed over the rooftops. His hideaway was across the city, hidden so that not even the greatest of earthbenders would be able to reach it. But as seemed to be his luck tonight, he was soon ambushed yet again. This time, it was by a large tendril of water appearing from nowhere, so suddenly that he had no time to turn. He ran directly into the water, watching helplessly as it quickly began to turn into ice.

Rage burned deep within the airbender as he watched the water around him slowly crystallize. Him? Defeated by a waterbender? No fucking way.

Using the last of the air in his lungs, Levi quickly began blowing bubbles into what little water remained around him. Without a second thought, he bent that air until it was concentrated into a little ball, then forcefully expanded it, shattering the ice crystal into so many shards. Before those shards could reach the ground, they began to pull themselves together into a great spear of ice, the waterbender leaping out from a nearby alcove to grab it and spin it around.

This one was tall – taller than the target for sure. He matched Levi's scowl with one of his own, looking down at the shorter male past a rather large nose and a full mustache. But for one so large, he moved quickly; Levi soon found himself forced to flip away, cushioning his landings with small pockets of air as he avoided the whirling spear. With each flip, Levi sent another round of air blades at his opponent, all of which were easily broken by the spear of ice.

There was no overpowering this one. He had to get the waterbender as far away from water as possible. But as long as the man held the spear, he held water.

Levi quickly performed a back flip and sent another air blade, aiming it directly at the spear. The waterbender stopped and held up the weapon to block the blow, and just as planned, the spear split in half, with one end spinning off into the darkness, propelled by a quick jet of air. Levi now surrounded his fists in highly concentrated air as the waterbender switched his spear to one hand, transforming it into a sword.

The two charged at each other without a moment's hesitation, but just as Levi was about to uppercut that big nose off of the waterbender's face, a great pillar of earth suddenly appeared in between them. The earthbender descended from the sky, slamming his shoulder directly into Levi's stomach, dispersing the air around his fists. Snarling, Levi quickly cushioned his landing with a quick gust of air, barely landing on his feet.

As the two landed on the ground, the man's hood was thrown back, revealing sharp features, blue eyes, and very, very large eyebrows. Unable to help himself, Levi's eyes widened: his target was a fucking earthbender. Not only that, he was a fucking earthbending master. God fucking dammit.

Levi leaped back as the other man spun around, causing smaller columns of earth to burst out from the ground. During his brief moment of hesitation after landing, the earthbender charged, grabbing Levi's wrists and pushing him back. Using his fingers, Levi sent out for a large column of air to come down on the man and choke the life from him, just like he was supposed to on that roof not long ago.

"Wait," the man's voice cut through Levi's concentration, stopping the air column short an inch or two above his head. "Take a look around you."

Levi wasn't quite sure what made him obey, but he did. The column of earth that had brought the man to this roof descended, revealing the roof across from it. The firebender and waterbender were on the roof, keeping watch over two all too familiar prisoners. Levi simply stood there, trembling as he watched Isabel and Farlan kneeling in the middle of a prison made of circling fire and water. Isabel was snarling, whereas Farlan seemed to be attempting to figure out a way out. But there would be no way; the two were non-benders.

The air column disappeared. Smiling, the target let go of Levi's arms and took a step back. "You analyze the situation quickly. I like that." He then waited while the fire and waterbenders came over, keeping his friends trapped in the whirling prison.

Levi could only glare at him as a glob of water surrounded his hands before freezing into ice, completely immobilizing his fingers and wrists. A swift kick from the firebender had him on his knees. Levi's target continued to smile down at him through all of this, as though hiding some sort of amusing secret. It would've been a lot more amusing if he would just drop dead already.

"I'll ask a few questions," the target said as he stood before them, regarding the three of them with an almost fascinated expression. "Where did you learn airbending?" this was directed at Levi. "You're a former Air Nomad, right? Did you escape the genocide?"

The man's question was met with a silent, defiant glare. Levi wasn't going to answer any questions this guy had. If it weren't for the other two benders, this man would be dead. As though reading his mind, the waterbender immediately made some sort of odd flowing motion with his arm.

Almost immediately, a pillar of sewer water rose up from the ground, soaking Levi completely. He snarled, eyes wide as he felt the dirty, germ-filled water absorbing into his clothes, dripping from his hair. He coughed briefly, only to nearly cry out as the waterbender grabbed his hair, wrenched his head back, then slammed it into the ground with immense brute strength. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Levi turned his head to glare at the waterbender, who simply sniffed the air briefly before a look of disgust crossed his features.

"I'll ask one more time. Where did you learn to master airbending?"

"He didn't learn from anyone! He taught himself!" Farlan interrupted, moving so close to the flames surrounding him that he nearly caught fire.

"A self-taught airbending master who just happened to escape the genocide?" the man turned to regard Farlan, raising one large eyebrow. "I don't buy it."

"He used his air scooter to escape and came down here," Farlan snapped, the protest evident in his voice. "The Fire Nation didn't target anyone else for genocide, so you wouldn't understand!"

"Let Levi go!" Isabel shouted, letting out a shriek of pain as she tried to punch the fire away. This was met with a snort of laughter from the firebender, but with one look from the earthbender, she quickly schooled her features. "Don't get cocky just because the Fire Nation didn't try to get rid of all of you too!"

The hand on Levi's hair slackened a little as the waterbender pulled him back up. Levi was trembling now, the coppery tang of blood filling his throat as he continued to glare daggers at the man before him. Without a word, the target knelt before him, until those startling blue eyes were level with Levi's black.

"My name is Erwin Smith. If I understand correctly, you and your friends were asked to eliminate me," a brief pause. "Do you know why?"

"… No," Levi answered simply, refusing to divulge anymore. And it was true; they had been approached by some fancy Earth Kingdom noble only a few days ago. The man had not told them much other than to eliminate the earthbender Erwin Smith. If they succeeded, the man had promised, they would become citizens of Ba Sing Se.

"Very well, Levi…" Erwin answered, as though testing the name on his tongue. From the way his expression changed, Levi saw that he seemed to like it. Fucking pervert. "Why don't we make a deal?"

"A deal?" Levi had dealt in such things before. Normally, the other party wanted someone dead – or wanted their hands on Isabel. Either way, Levi never struck deals with targets. After all, they were meant to be dead.

"Targeting members of our order is a crime punishable by death," Erwin said. He kept his tone steady as he spoke, though those blue eyes flashed with something almost akin to excitement. "But if you lend me your strength… your crimes will go unpunished. Join the Order of the Black Lotus."

At those words, Levi was unable to stop his eyes from widening. Isabel gasped. Farlan merely looked confused. All of them had heard of the Order of the White Lotus before. There was even a rumor somewhere that some splinter of said order was styling itself the Order of the Red Lotus. But an Order of the Black Lotus? None of them had heard of such a thing before.

Except, of course, in rumor. It was said that the Order of the Black Lotus was a group of assassins, working in the shadows to manipulate the politics of the Four Nations. Not only that, but they were said to be the most powerful fighting force in the world, powerful enough to stand in for the missing Avatar. Of course, they did nothing about this war; they were loyal only to themselves and each other. All they cared about was maintaining balance in this world, Avatar and nations be damned.

It was said that, for an enormous price, one could even hire the services of the Order of the Black Lotus. It could take an hour, a day, a year, ten years, a hundred years… but once the Order of the Black Lotus had their payment and their eyes set on a target, the target was dead. The target's death was as certain as if the person hiring the Order of the Black Lotus had swung the blade themselves. Joining them would mean joining a world of shadows, intrigue, and mistrust.

"And if I refuse?"

Erwin simply shrugged. "Then you'll be handed to the Fire Nation. That'll just be another step towards your nation's extinction." He stood up and turned his back, as though to walk away. "Considering they've been hiding you this entire time, your friends will not face a pleasant time before the Fire Lord."

He was right. He was all too right. Levi would be put to death immediately, but his friends… they would be brought before the Fire Lord. They would be questioned, tortured even, feeding the Fire Lord's obsession for finding and destroying every single airbender. He would never believe their protests or claims that Levi was the only airbender they were hiding. The Underground itself would be invaded and reduced to ash. Isabel's and Farlan's deaths would be slow and painful.

Levi made his choice.

* * *

"You're staring again~!"

Levi blinked and wrenched his gaze away from the two men and narrowed his eyes at the target before him. Without a single hesitation, he leaped into the air and performed a quick swipe with his leg, followed by another, then a third. Three air blades sliced through the air, sending the target sky high. Hanji whistled as she watched it fly, then shook her head, snorting as she laughed.

"What?" Levi snarled, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth. Hanji paused to take off her glasses and wipe her eyes.

"Next time we head out on a mission, we should just make the enemy tease you about Erwin," she said in between her chortles. "You'll just send them into space and then we don't have to clean up any bodies!"

"You and those shitty theories," Levi muttered, shaking his head. And indeed, Hanji's theories were ridiculous; she seemed to be fixated on the idea that there was a place beyond the sky, one that had no air, no earth, and no water. There was only fire, and it was filled with millions of suns. She called it Firebender Heaven. Levi called it stupid.

"Hard to fight good evidence," Hanji said with a grin as she waved her hand and a few of their helpers set up some more targets. "But really, Levi, you work best with him and can get _really_ pissy if you get teased about him. In fact, there was this one time when-"

While the firebender rambled on, Levi allowed his attention to wander back to the earthbender, who was doing his own training not too far away. Erwin was completely shirtless, wearing nothing on his upper body save a few bandages wrapped around his fists. His well-muscled chest heaved with exertion as he prepared yet another attack, blue eyes sharp and concentrated on a point in front of him. With lightning-fast speed, Erwin ran forward and moved his arms down, as though preparing to lift a great weight. As his arms moved towards the sky, so too did the earth; a huge block of it was pulled straight from the ground and sent hurtling towards the sky, Erwin leaping up after it using a pillar of earth beneath his feet to propel him. As he slammed his hands into the airborne pillar, it shattered, sending tiny pebbles hurtling towards the earth at speeds fast enough to shatter glass.

Erwin was panting, sweat rolling off of his face and chest. His muscles undulated with unbridled power as he moved, calling upon the earth to obey his every command. He called up pillar after pillar, hopping across them until he slowly lowered himself back to the ground, where he bent over and pressed his hands to his knees, face flushed, full lips reddened and parted. Unconsciously, Levi licked his lips, completely mesmerized by the sight of a heated, exhausted Erwin.

"Heeeeyyyyy you're stari-"

Hanji laughed maniacally as she was sent sky high.

* * *

"What do you see, Levi?"

"The Earth King is taking a shit while his wife is fuck-"

His words were met with a small chuckle. "What do you _really_ see?"

Levi paused for a moment as he looked through the seeing glasses, adjusting them slightly to see even better into the windows of the Royal Palace. The Earth King was indeed using the bathroom while his wife was receiving a "diplomatic visitor" from one of the many territories of the Earth Kingdom. Quite a few sentries were out as well, most of them patrolling the grounds, though a few remained position on the walls. He relayed all of this to Erwin, while noting that their target was nowhere in sight.

"Hm…" Erwin tapped his chin, blue eyes flashing eagerly as he regarded the Royal Palace. It had been a long time since someone had hired the Order of the Black Lotus to target anyone as highly ranked as the Head of the Dai Li. As Erwin had put it earlier, it had likely cost whatever poor villager had paid for them ten years' worth of harvest – but Erwin had waived the price, partially out of pity, mostly because he was simply excited to see some action again.

Levi squinted slightly as he continued to look through their seeing device, looking at every window. Most of the Royal Palace seemed to be settling to bed tonight. Of course, it was much later than it should've been.

"We should've brought Mike," Erwin mused. A slight movement next to Levi told him that Erwin had shifted position so he was more comfortable. No use being uncomfortable if it meant their target may not even show up tonight, after all. "He might've been able to sniff the target out more easily."

"If the Earth King's shit doesn't block his nose first," Levi countered, though he nodded at Erwin to show his agreement. Mike's waterbending was unparalleled, and his nose even moreso; he could sniff targets, smelly ones especially, a mile away. But alas, he was out with Nanaba keeping watch over the Fire Lord, ready to strike him down should the need arise. Levi was surprised that the need hadn't arisen yet.

Another small chuckle. "Indeed… but this is unusual. My reports tell me that Lovof ought to be at least hovering the Earth King by now. I wonder where he i-"

"Wait," Levi said sharply. He was back to watching the Earth Queen, zooming in on her as she began to undress. Wrinkling his nose at the sight of her – really, she let herself go a shit ton – he instead concentrated on her visitor. He wasn't wearing any sort of uniform that indicated he was Dai Li, but that was likely a smart move; the Earth King would likely not take too kindly to any one of his Dai Li visiting his Queen at night like this, least of all the Head of the Dai Li.

"It's Lovof," Levi whispered, pulling himself from the seeing device. There was no mistaking the double-chin and the floppy jowls. "That's the man that hired me to kill you."

"You're telling me that Lovof sleeps with the Earth Queen?" Erwin asked, all too amused. "Do you think if we reveal that, the Earth King will ask us to rid him of the Queen as well?"

"If we're going to kill her too, let's do it while she's still dressed," Levi muttered as he stood up and put away the seeing device. "It's a lot easier to clean blood than it is to clean the memory of _those_."

Erwin simply acknowledged the statement with a smile, before taking a step back. Taking that as his signal to go, Levi took a deep breath and concentrated on a particular spire of the Royal Palace, far away from the Earth Queen's chambers. Quickly, he sucked air into his lungs, expanding them until he felt as though he would burst. Then, without another hesitation, he expelled all of it, bringing his hands forward as though pushing all of this air towards the spire. A powerful gust of wind responded to his efforts, ripping the spire from the palace and sending it spinning into the air. The shouts of the sentries and the Dai Li soon followed, then the distinct sound of running footsteps. Levi quickly checked the seeing device and confirmed that Lovof and the Earth Queen were still going about their business, and that the Earth King was still sitting on the toilet.

"Let's go," Levi muttered, Erwin cracking his knuckles in response. Without another word, the two of them leaped off the rooftop, Levi quickly airbending to silence their descent, before they took off running towards the palace. Once again, Levi quickly and carefully bent the air around their feet so that they would move faster, the two of them easily slipping past the bewildered sentries and Dai Li and moving immediately towards the Earth Queen's chambers.

"Brace yourself," Erwin warned before the earth beneath Levi's feet lifted, a pillar appearing beneath the two of them and launching them into the air. Once they were high enough, Levi called forth a gust of air to blow them right through the window of the Earth Queen's chambers, the Queen's scream indicating that they indeed had the right room.

Erwin acted immediately. Making a swift uppercut with his arm, he created a small pillar of earth to come up and strike Lovof right in the chin, sending the man upwards. Levi quickly silenced the Earth Queen with a swift elbow strike to her temple, sending her crumpling to the floor.

Lovof landed hard and attempted to counter, lifting a few rocks from the nearby mantelpiece and sending them hurtling towards Erwin. With a small smirk, Erwin held up a hand and stopped the rocks right in their tracks, before forming a fist and compressing the decorative rocks together until they became an even larger rock. Before Lovof could so much as shout, Erwin slammed his fist into this enlarged rock, splitting it into a million smaller ones that ricocheted off the walls and right into Lovof himself.

Lovof's eyes widened greatly as the tiny pebbles slammed into him, tearing holes into every part of his body. Levi watched with mild disgust as the man's eyes literally exploded in his skull, holes appearing in his skin as though by magic. The large man fell to the ground, a pulpy mess of what he once was, twitching as he breathed his last. Erwin stood over their target, grinning with more than a little satisfaction – he hadn't quite forgiven Lovof for that time Lovof tried to have him killed.

"Erwin, the guards are coming," Levi said as he looked over his shoulder, listening to the heavy footsteps of the Earth Kingdom's sentries and perhaps even some members of the Dai Li. They had obviously been summoned by the Earth Queen's scream. "We need to go."

For a moment, Erwin said nothing, merely looking down at the pulpy mess before him. Then, he turned around, offering his hand to Levi. "Do you trust me?"

Levi blinked. Did he trust Erwin? He had only known the other man for a few months, had trained with him, had watched as he helped build Isabel and Farlan a tiny little house and a pretty little teashop in the middle of the busiest district of Ba Sing Se. There were no landlords – the land had been owned by Erwin's family, but Erwin had passed it to Farlan, so that the two non-benders could build new lives in the Earth Kingdom. He had even allowed Levi to visit them once every month, and thanks to the location, the quality of the tea, and Isabel's fiery spirit, they were prospering. But did that mean he trusted Erwin?

The banging on the door was louder now. Obviously, the Earth King was trying to get in as well. It seemed that the locks for these doors were too well created, as not even the earthbending Dai Li was able to get through. But soon enough, the door would splinter, and two members of the Order of the Black Lotus would be revealed to all.

Without another thought, Levi grabbed Erwin's hand. "Yes."

Erwin smiled. Then, he wrapped one arm around Levi's waist and charged towards the window, leaping out of it easily. The ground was a long ways away from them, and even with his airbending ability, Levi doubted that he would be able to cushion them enough to prevent injury, and even then, they would never escape like that. But after a single look from Erwin, all doubt disappeared; he asked for Levi's trust. Just this once, Levi offered it to him.

Then, Erwin's feet touched earth, but that earth did not sit still; it moved, undulating over the palace grounds like a wave. Shocked, Levi could only tighten his grip on Erwin's neck as the wave of earth bore the two of them away from the palace, faster than the two of them had traveled before. The Royal Palace disappeared in their wake, the wave traveling so quickly they were little more than a dust storm on the horizon. No doubt, the guards would be searching everywhere tomorrow for the group of earthbending bandits that no doubt were responsible for Lovof's slaying; the Order of the Black Lotus was safe.

"Levi," the rumble of his name through Erwin's chest caused Levi to look upwards, meeting Erwin's eyes. Erwin smiled down at him, blue eyes alight and twinkling. He looked happier than Levi had ever seen him before. In a single word, he was beautiful – and for the first time in his life, Levi was absolutely breathless. "Thank you for trusting me."

* * *

"… Farlan punched the guy first, but then Isabel came in waving around a teapot," Levi continued, his voice slightly thickened and slurred from all the alcohol in his system. "He kept saying he didn't want to leave, so Isabel dumped the whole thing on his head. Then she broke it over his dick."

Erwin threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh, his shoulders heaving slightly. Shaking his head, the earthbender reached for his mug, splashing a little bit on his shirt as he drank. Levi's grip on the edge of the table tightened slightly as he stopped himself from leaning forward and licking the alcohol from the man's chin.

"And? What happened next?" Erwin asked eagerly as he sloppily put down his mug. Levi paused mid-drink to take in the earthbender's form, his eyes raking over Erwin's flushed face and red lips. When the Black Lotus Commander threw his head back and laughed, his Adam's apple bobbed. Even when drunk, those blue eyes never lost their intensity.

"They kicked him out," Levi said simply, taking another sip and setting his mug to the side. His world was beginning to get more than a bit wobbly. He would have to stop drinking soon. "I didn't have to do a thing. But if I could, I would've kicked his ass."

"I'm sure Isabel would've been quite impressed if she saw how much your skill has grown," Erwin mused. There was a strange note in his voice, almost sorrowful. Levi looked up immediately when he detected it, though Erwin seemed not to notice. "She surely would say yes to any sort of proposal from you."

Levi snorted and shook his head. "Hell no. She's just a brat that I tolerate well enough." Ah yes, his way of saying "friend" was interesting as well. "Not my type."

Erwin took another drink from his mug, expression unreadable, but blue eyes sharp as ever. "Then what is your type, Levi?"

"What are we, teenaged girls gossiping over boys we like?" Levi asked, though in the same breath, he shook his head. "Tall people."

"You can say that, I suppose," Erwin answered. Then, he made a gesture towards Levi. "You can ask me a question if you want."

"What kind of people are _your_ type?" Levi asked immediately. He already knew the answer to that, of course: slim, beautiful women with long auburn hair piled high on her head, eyes the color of sapphires, and lips colored ruby red. Erwin loved the women – or should Levi say, woman - with high cheekbones and subtle curves, skin so white and delicate that it was hard to believe she was anything but a princess. More than once, Levi had considered going against orders and striking down the woman's husband, Nile, so that Erwin could get what he wanted. Erwin, after all, deserved happiness.

Said earthbender seemed to consider the question as he topped off his drink and Levi's. "… Short people. What do you look for first in a partner?"

"Some common fucking sense," Levi replied, downing half of his mug and tapping it on the table for more. Damn, didn't he promise himself something about controlling his drinking intake for the rest of the night? Ah well. "Maybe half a brain too."

"Ah, so Petra, then?"

"Oi, that's two questions," Levi snapped, black eyes narrowing into a glare. "Do that again and I'll break your legs."

"So…?"

"No," Levi pushed his cup away, shaking his head. "Her old man wants it, but she deserves better…" plus, Oluo would probably shit his pants or something, and Levi didn't want to be the one to have to clean that up. "I get two questions now. One, what made you notice Marie first? Two, how long before you finally tell one of us to off Nile so you can finally have her?"

At that, Erwin let out another hearty laugh, wiping a tear from his eye. "One, it was her ferocity. Nile and I were out drinking one night when a young man attempted to grab her. We both stood up to help, but Marie had handled it herself. She broke her assailant's arm with some expert earthbending, impressing both of us. Two…" he paused for a moment, considering his drink. "… Never. I don't want her. Not anymore, at least. I have someone much, much more precious to me now." He set down his drink, regarding Levi curiously. "If you're not looking at any women, are you perhaps looking at some men?"

That was met with a beat of silence, then, "What's it to you?"

Erwin smiled, crinkling the corner of his eyes ever so slightly. "So it is, isn't it?" he stood up from his seat. Without thinking, Levi did as well.

"… Your precious person… is it a woman?" Levi asked, keeping his face as expressionless as possible.

"No. Just like yours, he's a man," Erwin moved out from behind the table, now standing at the corner opposite Levi's. "What color are his eyes?"

"Blue," Levi said automatically. Then, "What color is his hair?"

"Black," Erwin answered, taking a step closer. Levi followed suit. "Is he a bender?"

"Yes. An earthbender," Levi flinched ever so slightly as one of Erwin's large, calloused hands gently traced over his face, pressing into his cheeks with the utmost care. The smile that adorned the erathbender's flushed face was gentle, his expression loving. Heart fluttering, Levi took a deep breath to steady it, praying that the warmth rising within him was not reflected in his cheeks. "Is he strong?"

"The strongest in the world," Erwin answered. He leaned down, so close that his lips were nearly touching Levi's. When he spoke, they brushed against each other, Levi almost reeling in shock when he felt Erwin shuddering. Erwin? Shivering? How could this be? He never showed weakness like this. "… What would he say if I asked him if I could kiss him?"

For a moment, Levi paused. Then, he moved, closing the distance between their lips as he closed his eyes, his body pressing against Erwin's. The warmth of Erwin's lips molding into his was met with an almost jubilant wave of chi, as the air around him began to shift and move as though in enjoy, while the pebbles on the ground began to tremor and quake. Erwin's lips were warm and surprisingly soft, moving over Levi's with ease and an almost delirious relief, as though a great weight had been lifted off the commander's shoulders.

A bubble burst in Levi's chest, causing him to grip onto Erwin's shirt and pull him in even more, deepening the kiss. He held onto Erwin so tightly he was trembling, fearful that letting go would mean saying goodbye to his commander forever. But he didn't want to say goodbye; he wanted to stay here and hold Erwin, and let Erwin hold him, and stroke his hair and whisper sweet nothings into his ear after they-

"OH BOOOOOOOYYYYYYYS!"

Hanji burst into the room uninvited, throwing open her arms wide. Immediately, Levi and Erwin split apart, blinking stupidly at the firebending intruder. From her wild hair and flushed face, it was obvious that she had been drinking as well. Mike followed in after her, walking steadily despite his flushed face. Damn it, was the whole order drinking tonight?

"We have great news!" Hanji said, flailing her arms about. "They found him in an iceberg! The last non-Levi airbender! Rejoice!"

"He's also the Avatar," Mike added, a small smile appearing on his face. "The war might end if he can defeat Fire Lord Zeke."

"I see…" Erwin murmured as he straightened. It was as though all the alcohol had been flushed from his system. Levi stood there, face expressionless, but still dazed from the kiss. How could Erwin recover so quickly? "What's his name and where is he?"

"His name is Eren Jaeger. He's been traveling with two kids from the Southern Water Tribe and was last seen heading towards the Western Air Temple," Hanji reported. "Should we send a dispatch out to watch over him?"

"No need," Erwin said. "Levi and I will go ourselves… tomorrow."

As though sensing the end of the conversation, Hanji and Mike turned around and left. Erwin turned back to Levi as soon as they were gone to continue the kiss, only to be interrupted by Levi's finger on his lips. "Hold on. You expect me to babysit a bunch of Avatar brats?"

"The Avatar will need an airbending teacher, now that his people are dead," Erwin replied with a smile. "And I know no better airbending master."

"Tch, fine, I'll teach him," Levi said, narrowing his eyes. "But I'm not gonna shave my fucking head and put an arrow on it."

Erwin leaned in and pressed a few kisses to his cheeks. "Please do not. I like your hair and forehead too much."

"Damn straight," was Levi's only reply before he kissed Erwin again, sealing the promise. "Once this is all over, we're opening a fucking tea shop together. I don't care what you say, we're doing it."

Erwin laughed. "I love you too, Levi."


End file.
